THE JINN - A SHORT ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE. PART 2

Part 2 continued:

The first ones to dwell on the earth were the jinn. Then some of the jinn disbelieved.  They caused mischief therein, shedding blood and killing one another.  The angels used to come down to earth to fight them, and there was bloodshed and corruption on earth.  Al-Hakim has reported a narration by Ibn Abbas ® that "Two thousand years before (mankind) was created, there were Jinn on (the Earth), and they caused corruption on it and shed blood. Then Allah sent against them a troop of Angels who beat them and cast them away to islands in the seas. So, when Allah said: ‘I am placing (mankind) generations after generations on Earth,’ They (the Angels) said, ‘Will You place therein one who will cause corruption and shed blood (Al Baqarah, 2:30), i.e.  Just as those Jinn did!  Then Allah said: ‘I know that which you do not know.’"  

Before we delve further into the subject, it is relevant to go back to the the ancestor of the Jinn – Iblis or Satan.  According to some sources Jinn are children of Jaan and those who do evil are the shaitans and are offsprings of Iblis. Al-Jaan is sometimes used as a name for Iblis, as in Quranic Surah 15:27: And the Jann [the father of the Jinn i.e. Iblis] we had created before [i.e. before the creation of Adam] of the fire of the Samum [i.e. smokeless fire]." Jann also signifies "a serpent," as in other passages of the Qur'an, and is used in the same book as synonymous with Jinn.   Hasan Basri and Tabari are of the opinion that Iblis is the ancestor of the Jinn, supported as they are by Muqatil, Qatada, and Ata. 

Iblis was not an angel but from the Jinn, since there is not even a single explicit statement in the Quran that categorically states that Iblis was an angel.  The idea of Iblis being an Angel is only through implications based on some Quranic verses where Angels are told to prostrate:  And behold, We said to the angels: "Bow down to Adam" and they bowed down. Not so Iblis: he refused and was haughty: He was of those who reject Faith (2:34).  When We said to the angels, "Prostrate yourselves to Adam", they prostrated themselves, but not Iblis: he refused (20:116).  Behold! We said to the angels: "Bow down unto Adam": They bowed down except Iblis: He said, "Shall I bow down to one whom Thou didst create from clay?" (17:61). Such other statements are found in the Quran in 15:28,  38:71, and 7:11.  We shall not discuss the Arabic grammar that Islamic scholars have pointed out to justify the case where the majority also includes the minority.  To put it in simple English, suffice it to say that when we address a group, “hey guys come on,” the group may comprise both men and women or a single one in a major group of either.  This sentence cannot be demonstrated to prove that the women in the group are actually men or vice versa.  On the other hand, we have the explicit Quranic verses to show that Iblis was an entity different from Angel and humans.  According to the Surah Al-Hijr of Holy Quran, verse 26: We created man from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape;  27. And the Jinn race, We had created before, from the fire of a scorching wind. In Sura al-Araf (v.12) it is stated: (Allah) said: "What prevented thee from bowing down when I commanded thee?" He said: "I am better than he: Thou didst create me from fire, and him from clay."  In Surah ar-Rahman, v.15 it is stated:  And the jinn did He create of smokeless fire.  Then in Surah Kahf (18:50):  Behold! We said to the angels, "Bow down to Adam": They bowed down except Iblis. He was one of the Jinn, and he broke the Command of his Lord. So without a doubt, Satan was a Jinn who was created from fire, and with his free will he disobeyed Allah.  Angels don’t have free will.  They obeyed the command of Allah and bowed down.  According to Ibn Kathir,  “When Allah Most Exalted commanded angels to prostrate before Adam, Satan was also included in this command. For, although he was not of their kind, he resembled them and performed their deeds. Therefore, Satan was also included in this command which was directed to angels. And he was condemned because he did not fulfill the command.”  In short, the Jewish concept of “Fallen Angel” cannot be accepted because it contradicts the Holy Quran!

A question might arise as to why Iblis, a Jinn,  should be included among the Angels whom Allah commanded to prostrate before Adam.  Prior to his becoming Iblis, he was known as Azazel for his extraordinary piety and was elevated to the rank of angels as their equal though he was from the Jinn kind.   According to Hajjah Amina Adil (Lore of Light), Azazel was the Peacock among the Angels.  He caused the Heavens to wonder when there was not space the width of a hand on the Earth where he did not make prostration for his Lord.  For ages, none excelled him, none could match him, not even the angels.  Outwardly, he was perfect.  His physical existence surrendered to the Will of his Lord perfectly until he was eventually Raised to the Heavens to be among Angels, and to lead them in prayer.  He was dressed in greatness, he worshiped his Lord more than any other creation.  But yet, he failed to serve Him inwardly.  According to  Abu Jafar al-Tabari in his Tafsir, Iblis’s wickedness stemmed from the fact that he was a Jinn who possessed great knowledge, worshipped Allah zealously and had been entrusted with the rule of lower heavens and the earth and was even given the post of the Keeper of Paradise! In fact, God had sent Iblis to gather some sweet and salty skin (Adeem – hence the name Adam) from the earth and thereafter created Adam from it.  It is for this reason that Iblis asked: Shall I fall prostrate before that which Thou hast created out of clay?” (Quran 17:61) That is, the clay brought by myself!  The Tafsir further mentions that God created Adam with a body of clay for forty years to the extent of a Friday.  When the Angels passed by him they were frightened by what they saw.  Iblis was the most frightened. He would kick him, and entering his body from the mouth he would leave by his posterior.  He would tell the Angels not to be afraid,  that whereas the Lord is solid, this one is hollow; and that: “When I am given the authority over him, I shall ruin him.” 

Iblis’ transgression cost him much.  (Allah) said: "Get thee down from this: it is not for thee to be arrogant here: get out, for thou art of the meanest (of creatures)." He was expelled from the blissful place and the company of angels.  Hell became his destiny yet he asked for respite: He said: "Give me respite till the day they are raised up."  (Allah) said: "Be thou among those who have respite."  He said: "Because thou hast thrown me out of the way, lo! I will lie in wait for them on thy straight way: "Then will I assault them from before them and behind them, from their right and their left: Nor wilt thou find, in most of them, gratitude (for thy mercies)." (Allah) said: "Get out from this, disgraced and expelled. If any of them follow thee,- Hell will I fill with you all. (Surah Araf 7:14-18)   So respite was granted to the accursed and rejected Iblis till the Day of the time appointed by Allah (swt) when all shall be raised from the dead – the details of which are in Surah al-Hijr (15:34-38).  The knowledge of “Appointed Time” is known only to Allah (swt)!  Since Iblis was sentenced to punishment because of Man, we learn from Surah Hijr: (Iblis) said: "O my Lord! because Thou hast put me in the wrong, I will make (wrong) fair-seeming to them on the earth, and I will put them all in the wrong, "Except Thy servants among them, sincere and purified (by Thy Grace)." (Allah) said: "This (way of My sincere servants) is indeed a way that leads straight to Me. "For over My servants, no authority shalt thou have, except such as put themselves in the wrong and follow thee." And verily, Hell is the promised abode for them all! (15:39-43).  Therefore Satan is an avowed enemy of Man and he and his agents would do all to turn Man away from the righteous path and thus make them also suffer the everlasting punishment of hellfire.  On this, the Holy Quran is very explicit where Iblis seeks respite from Allah till the Day of Judgment in order to bring all the descendants of Adam under his sway, except a few, and tells Allah: “By Your Power, I will seduce all of them except Your purified servants (Surah Saad – 38:82-83).   Humankind has free will and so Iblis has no authority over them except those who do wrong and follow Iblis.

Allah (swt) has clearly stated that Iblis is the enemy of mankind and he began to lead them astray beginning with Adam in Paradise itself: In Surah Ta-Ha it is mentioned:  116. And when We said unto the angels: Fall prostrate before Adam, they fell prostrate (all) save Iblis; he refused. 117. Therefore we said: O Adam! This is an enemy unto thee and unto thy wife, so let him not drive you both out of the Garden so that thou come to toil. 118. It is (vouchsafed) unto thee that thou hungerest not therein nor art naked, 119. And that thou thirstest not therein nor art exposed to the sun's heat. 120. But the devil whispered to him, saying: O Adam! Shall I show thee the tree of immortality and power that wasteth not away? 121. Then they twain ate thereof so that their shame became apparent unto them, and they began to hide by heaping on themselves some of the leaves of the Garden. And Adam disobeyed his Lord, so went astray.

Continued in 3.

NASIR